Eccentric-concentric heat exchanger



` June 10, 1930. R. SHIPMAN ECCENTRIC CONCENTRIC HEAT EXCHANGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 9, 1928 .lune 10, 1930.

R. L. SHIPMAN ECCENTRIC CONCSEN'IRIC HEAT EXCHANGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- Filegoct. 9, 1928 Patented .lune O, KQS

noBERT L. siIIrMAN, or BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, AssrGNo-a or om: i.TAVLr To EARL' D. SPARAGUE, oF BRIpGEPoRn@CONNECTICUT` EccENTRYIcoNcr-:NTRIC HEAT EXGHANGEB Application mercante; 9, lessi rserial No. 311,382.,

4This invention relates to a heat exchanger -or a heat exchange' device. for the transfer l of heat from one fluid medium to ,another through intervening Walls, and4 has foran K object `to provide a vdevice whichV will require a minimum amount of Vspace vfor a given amount of'heat transfer surface. f It is also an object of the invention kto provide a device of this character in which practically all of the material entering into the construction is used for heat transfer rality of tubesof progressively increasing diameter arranged one Within the other and lspaced from each other to provide passagesk for the fluids. lWherel concentric tubes Were Lused one of the difficulties involved, espe, Vcially Where theseV spaces Were narrow, Was Ytoconnect the inlet and outlet pipes forthe purposes, thus economizing in the amount ofmaterial required ,for a given heat transfer capacity. .l i Y l It is a further object of the invention to .provide a device in vvhich the surfacesliable to be corroded by electrolytic actionmay' be protected, and Where all the joints areeasily accessible for Vinspection or repair. V

Itis another object ofthe invention to so construct a device of thischaracter that the condensing medium is in thin layers over the active surfaces to reduce `to a mini- A,mum the amount of the condensing liquid required, and to also economize inthe amount of power required for circulating the condensing medium.V Y y Itis astill further object of the invention to provide a device of this character in which all Aspaces containing Qa certain medium, such asipoisonousgases orvapors, are' surrounded by thecondensing medium,'V y y tubular elements in WhatI call cells, each l,cell being formedby a pair oftubesbf Vsuch vas Water, so that'should there be [any leakage of the poisonous gases or vapors it Would be into the Water, and therefore, carried away with it Without danger to 'g'life orproperty. l *l Y It is another object of the inventio'rrtol arrange the elements; forming relatively',

Adescribed in connection with 'the .accom i panying drawings'. `In thesedravvings,

Figfl is a longitudinal section of Va'heat y' exchanger constructed according to my invFigs. 2, 3l andy 4 are transverse ysections thereof substantially on lines 2-1-2,3-3 and iaresp'ectively of Fig'. l, and i' p Fig. f5 is a fragmentary section showing a v'slightly dierent construction. s

V'The deviceV illustrated comprisesy a lplufluids inl such a Way as to provide suiiicient spaces. In the present construction vI have l to a large extent lovercome this difficulty by arranging the tubularelements yinthe Inan- Yner "shown, and-in Which 'the elements arer inclined soY as lt increase the Width of the rs'pacesmat ,one vside Where they are in com municationJ-.with

v the inletor outlet pipe or conduit.,Y u i (so l To securev thistresult I havefarranged the l to each other.iv so thaty kthe opposite Vends .of

' tiie'gtubes aire .eccelntric and the space'betw'een- .Y y tientubeszvat oneend is reater on onev side narrow Huld ConduCtH-lg Spaces that theof the axes ythanonfthegother side ,and-the:

space between'v theftubes 'at the other end is fgreateron the opposite sideof the axes.l

vflake for example, the inner tubeil()` and .theneXt larger (tube, ll.- lhesetzWo tubes 4'forna-theinner-J- cell Yand their axes are in-y clined to eachother so that theiropposite ends are eccentric, and therefore, the portio'nrof the'rfspace 12 at theu'pperside.v and'.

space at the lower side of the tube 10, while at the opposite end the lower portion of this space is wider, as shown at 13, than the space is at the upper side of the tube. The

saine is true of the second cell comprising the tubes 14 and 15. The axes of these tubes are also inclined to each other so that they are eccentric at opposite ends to give wider spaces 12 and 13 at the upper andy lower sides of the tubes at their opposite ends,

'larger cell, and soon, so that the spaces 20 between the larger tube of one cell, and the smaller tube of' the next larger cell is a substantially annularr space and of the same width throughout.

'- The assembled structure is' enclosed in an 'outer' cylindrical shell 21 and the outer tube '19 is concentric with this shell to provide a similar space 20 between them. The tubes of the cells are shorter than the shell 2l providing spaces or chambers 22 and 23 at the opposite ends ofthe cells, and the' annular spaces 20 communicate with the chambers 22 and 23 at their opposite ends, and as these spaces may be opened throughout the greater portions of their peripheries these spaces 20 may be left annular. The spaces betweenV the tubesl of the cells are connected with vfluid conducting pipes 24 and 25, one of which is' the inlet` pipe and the other the outlet pipe. As these pipes are relatively small in diameter considerable difficult as ointed out above has been ex- .P perienced in securing sufficiently large openings between the conductors and the re'- quired spaces to secure the proper flow of' fluid through the device. However, by connecting the pipe 24, for instance, with the Vportions 12 of the cell spaces' and the pipe 25 to the widest portions 13 of the cell spaces I am enabled to secure a sufficiently large opening between these spacesz and the con-V duitsto secure a very effective flow of fluid tween them, and I can secureV sufficientV flow even though the conduits extend across thee-nds of the tubesA as shown. This greatly `simplifies.the construction and reduces the cost of manufacture. It will, of course, be understood that the ends of the cell spaces vwhich are not in communication with the conduits 24 and 25 are closed against the chambers 22 vand 23, and it is preferred to secure this closure by welding the-rn together, as indicated at 26. It will also be under- Vcost o stood that the ends of the annular spaces 2O are open to the chambers22 and 23 except where they are opposite the conduits 24 and 25 and here theyr are welded together, as

shown at 27, so that the spaces 20 are not in' communication with the conduits 24 and 25, and the two streams of fluid between which there is a transfer of heat are kept separate.

The opposite ends of the shell 21 may be closed by heads 28 bolted by suitable bolts 29 to flanges 30 secured to the opposite ends of the shell, and inlet and outlet conduits 311 and 32 may be connected to these heads to conduct fluid to and from the chambers 22 and 23.

To secure a more uniform distribution of the fluid to the cell spaces 12' and 13, the vconduits 24 and 25 may beV tapered as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4l, the smallest ends' being in communication with the inner smallest diameter 12 or 15 and the greatest width in communication withv the corresponding space of the' largest diameter, it being', of

course, understood that the largest diameter' space is capable of conducting a greater amount of fluid.

These devices may be made in practically any length desired to give the required surfaces, yo r they may be madegup of certain lengths and connected together either in series or parallel to secure the saine result. lt will be apparent that there numerous advantages in this construction over the constructions of the ordinary heat exchangers. For instance, it is very economical in the space required as there are practically no waste spaces in its makeup, and it requires a minimum of space in proportion to the amount oi heat transfer surface secured.

This is a particular advantage in congested districts where space 1s valuable. This feature also is econonncalof' material as practically all the material used in its construction is active material functioning for 4transfer of heat,`and the walls may be placed closely tegether. The construction is also relatively inexpensive asl all the joints can where saltv water or brine is used. It will be noted that all joints are easily accessible for inpection or repair, and therefore, 'the u upkeep is reduced..

A further advantage of' this' device is economy in the' use of condensing medium.

It will be noted fromv the drawing that V l'lO `be' welded, and therefore, fittings or screw l "izo llaa-'012 water, for instance, used as a condensing medium passes through the annular spaces V and it is, therefore, disposed in ,thin layers over the active surfaces. The same `is true ofthe materiahsuch as gases or vapors,v

to be condensed or cooled in the Vcell spaces l2-13, but in cases such as this' in which vapors are being condensed or liquids are `being evaporated the distances between the retaining walls. may be Yvaried without materially varying the heat conducting efliciency of the apparatus. yVVhere-the `heat transfer is from the liquid only it is preferp heat fromV one medium' to theother, and

this transfer may bewincreased as the walls of the tube may Vloe made relatively thin,

and the pressuresrbalance each other on opposite sides of the separating walls. This economy in the use of `condensing medium reduces the power required for pumping or circulating medium since a smaller amount thereof is required for a given transfer of heat. `These narrow fluid spaces lalso cause rapid cleaning'of the surfaces that is,.fluid does not cling to* the surfaces after being heated or cooled but is kept moving, thus securing a greater and more efficient 'transfer of heat than would otherwise be the case because fluids are very poor conductorsy of heat. v

A particular advantage of'this construction is its safety in operation. It will be noted from an inspection ofthe drawings that the cell spaces 12 and 13 through which the vapor or gases to be condensed or cooled flow are'entirely surrounded by the condensing or cooling medium, in the above example, water. Thus for instance if the device is used for condensing ammonia or other poisonous vapor or an inflammable vapor all leakage thereof will be directlyV into the condensing or coolingfmedium, such for instance as water, and willr thus vbe absorbed by the water and carried off with it, thereby making it possible to use thisV device in practically any location without danger to life or property. Furthermore, all the surfaces of the spaces 20 are easily accessible for cleaning by merely removing'the heads. l

In Fig. 5, I have shown agslightly different construction where the conduits 24 and 25 are connectedto the cells. I-Iere the openings between the conduits and the spaces in Athe cells are enlarged by recessing the metal wall back somewhat as shown at 33;

Havingthus isa foral/fn invention;whatfriaim 15:, l

'1; vInf'aflheat lexchange device an outer tubulanshelha plurality of pairs offspaced jf substantially? concentrictub'es within. the shell Vand spaced therefrom and providingy 'chambers'at the oppositeendsof .the tubesin communication with the spaces `between the ftubes of each pair, fluid inlet and outlet connections to said chambers, the adjacent pairs the nature of my v-oftubes being-inclined with respect to each'` other-so that the` spaces between` adjacent. airs are wider atone end at'the upper side ofitheir longitudinal axes.- and wider atthe Y V'other `end at the lower side oftheir longi- 'tudinalaaxes,. andinlet vand outlet connecwidestlportion'sthereof. p

. 2.' In.` aKV heat exchange ltions-'itc, -jthese spaces at vsubstantially the I i device, an outer tubular s'hell, a plurality of cellsxin said shell .extending longitudinally thereof fl and 1 providing' chambers at theoppositeends of saidCellS, each cell being formed by a-:pairoff spaced tubes arranged one ywithinthe otherr .an'd with ytheir yopposite endsaeccentric in opposite directions, said cells being arranged so that the outer tube of'one cell is substantially concentric with the inner tube of the next larger cell to provide annular spaces communicating with said chambers, a fluid inlet connection to the widest portions of f the cell spaces at one end, a fluid outlet'connection to the widest portions of the cell spaces at the opposite ends thereof, and fluid inlet and `outlet connections to the said chambers'.

3. Ina heat exchange device, a plurality of tubular cells, each cell being formed by a pair of spaced tubes arranged one within thel other and with their axes inclined to each other so thattheir opposite ends are arranged'eccentrically in opposite directions, said cells being arranged so that the outer tube of one cell is substantiallyconcentric with 'I the inner tube of the next larger cell to provide annular spaces between them, a

fluid inlet connection to the widest portions of the cell fspaces at one end, a fluid outlet d connection to the widest `portions of the cell spaces at their opposite ends, and fluid inlet y and outlet 'connections to the annular spaces. 4. In a heat exchange device, anV outer tubular shell, a plurality of cells in said-vv shell extending longitudinally .thereof and providing chambers at the ,opposite ends of of spacedl tubes arranged one within the said cells being arranged so thatvthe outerv tube kof onecell is substantially concentric with the inner tube of the next largercell to lprovide annular spaces between them communicating with the chambersat the'oppo- [a1-2o said cells,'each` cell being formed by a pairA 7 site ends of the cells, a fluid connection in each of said chambers-extending, transversely of the ends of the cells and communicating with the cell spaces at the Widest portions thereof and fluid connections to said chambers.

5. In a heat exchange device, a plurality of spaced cylinders of progressively increasing diameter arranged one Within the other to provide. separated spaces for passage of fluid, a cylindrical casing inclosing said cylinders and of greater length to provide chambers at the opposite ends of said cylinders, the alternate spaces between the cylinders being in communication with said chambers at their opposite ends, and inlet and outlet conduits communicating with the other spaces, said conduits extending transversely across the extreme ends of the cylinders Within said chambers With the first mentioned spaces closed from the conduits and Y with the second mentioned spaces closed from the chambers but opening at their ends into said conduits.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

. ROBERT L. SHIPMAN.

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